


Just a Bother

by ohnoanotheroneofthese (didnotthinkitwouldcometothis)



Category: Pierce the Veil, Sleeping With Sirens
Genre: Alcohol, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-30
Updated: 2016-03-30
Packaged: 2018-05-30 03:54:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6407737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/didnotthinkitwouldcometothis/pseuds/ohnoanotheroneofthese
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vic is stressed, the situation is tense, and Kellin fears that their relationship might be falling apart. Are they able to work it out  this time?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just a Bother

**Author's Note:**

> Based on two different anon prompts I got on tumblr! :)

Vic was at work. 

To Kellin's dismay it had become a pretty common occurrence lately. Either Vic was at work, or he was at home being stressed about work. There was going to be some sort of inspections in his workplace soon and they were all working extra hours to make everything look good. Kellin didn't even know what kind of an inspection it would be or when it was held, but he knew that Vic's job was on the line and that this had been going on for about a week now.

* * *

 

Vic would come home after a long day at work and instead of being able to relax, he would still be worrying, planning about what needed to be done tomorrow and second-guessing if he should have stayed longer today. At first Kellin had tried to help him, trying to make Vic talk to him and get him to relax one way or another. But his attempts were always shot down. 

"You wouldn't understand," Vic would say when Kellin asked him to talk to him about it.

"I can't focus on a movie right now Kellin," he would say.

Kellin kept trying, because he knew that this much stress wasn't good for anyone, and he hated seeing Vic so on edge all the time. He felt like walking on eggshells, trying to show Vic that he cared without coming off too strong, bothering Vic and making him annoyed. He would subtly try to make him talk, asking small questions about Vic's day and doing little things that would maybe make him relax, until...

"Could you just leave me alone for a while?! Work is stressing me out enough as it is, I don't need you to bug me all the time when I'm at home."

All the underlying thoughts Kellin had had about being a bother were confirmed by that simple sentence, and while Kellin tried to hide his shock and swallow the lump in his throat he couldn't help but feel hurt. He did his best not to show it though, it was his fault for being pushy when, like said multiple times before, Vic was stressed. 

Kellin had carried on the day, giving Vic a little more space. Well, a lot more. He was practically pretending like he wasn't there, he wasn’t even bothering Vic by initiating a simple conversation. What bothered Kellin the most was how this all didn't even seem to affect Vic, it was like he preferred them acting like strangers.

The following night was spent sleeping in the same bed, yes, but with a distance in between them so big that it left Kellin feeling like they were in completely different worlds.

When Kellin woke up the next morning, he wasn't surprised to see that Vic had already left to work. Kellin would need to leave for work in an hour or so, so he slowly got up from bed and started his morning routine. After a (not so good) night's sleep he was able to look at the situation between him and Vic in a slightly different light.

While he was still hurt by the way Vic had treated him the last few days, he was also hopeful. It was friday and maybe, just maybe, Vic would be a bit more relaxed on the weekend. He wanted to make things okay between them again, so he decided that once he were home from work, he would cook a dinner for Vic and him, hopefully surprising him positively.

And here he was now, sitting alone at the dinner table looking at the food that had gone cold a while ago. Vic had told him he would be home at 4 today, and it was already way past that and there was no sign of Vic. Kellin had sent him a message, asking what time he was going to be home, but he had gotten no answer. He saw that Vic had read the message, but he hadn't replied. Was Kellin bothering him at work now too? That's surely how it felt like. 

With a sigh Kellin stood up, leaving the dinner at the table and heading out, grabbing his wallet and jacket on the way. He needed something else to think about, and maybe Vic would appreciate the fact that Kellin wasn't at home to bother him when he came home from work. 

Kellin opted for going for a walk, aimlessly walking around the town. The walking was practically no use for distracting him though, all it did was make him think more. It seemed like the more he thought the more he was convinced with how he and Vic were drifting apart and how Vic might realise that he's better off without Kellin and maybe this would be it. Maybe Vic would want to break up. 

That thought was too awful. Kellin brushed it in the back of his mind and looked at his surroundings, trying to find something to distract him from his wandering thoughts. He seemed to have walked near the centre of the town, standing next to a bar he had been to once or twice before. He was freezing a little and thought that a drink or two wouldn't hurt at the moment, so he walked inside. Being around people would surely be a better distraction than being left alone with his thoughts.  

Kellin stepped inside the bar and was instantly faced by the warm air and a swarm of people. It was friday night, so he wasn't surprised that the bar was relatively full. Kellin made his way to the counter and sat on a stool, searching for his wallet and waiting for the bartender to notice him.

Eventually the bartender, a brown haired man about his age, walked to where he was sitting and asked him, "What can I get for you?"

"A beer," Kellin said simply. He wasn't here to get drunk, just to loosen up and relax a little, trying to find something else to think about.  

"Can I see your ID?" The man asked.

Kellin opened his wallet and took out his driver's license, showing it to the bartender who took it and checked his age, nodding approvingly when he saw that Kellin was of legal age to drink.

Once the bartender had handed him the drink and he had payed, Kellin took a sip of his beer and looked around in the bar. 

All around he saw people being happy, dancing and talking and just generally having fun. His eyes landed on a couple making out in the corner, and he quickly averted his gaze, turning back to face the bar counter and taking a mouthful of beer. He didn't want to look at happy couples when he wasn't sure what was happening to his own relationship.  

He really didn't want them to break up, he wanted to work things out till they were back to the happy couple they used to be. But how could they do it when it seemed like his mere presence was enough to annoy Vic. Kellin wasn't sure how long he would be able to act like a stranger because as much as it hurt when Vic was scolding him, it hurt more when Vic payed no mind to him. Kellin seemed to be lost with finding a positive outcome for this.

Kellin drank the rest of his beer, ordering another, and another, until he could see his eyesight getting hazier and feel his thoughts getting slower. But no matter how hard he tried, his thoughts didn't move away from the topic of his and Vic's relationship. At this point Kellin just wanted to forget, just for the night he wanted to act like everything was okay between them and pretend that when he would go home later tonight he would be faced by Vic who still loved him and who didn't think he was just a bother. 

Kellin felt like he really needed to use the bathroom, so he drank the last of his drink. He wasn't sure how many he had drank, but he was definitely drunk. It hadn't felt this bad when he was just sitting on the bar stool but now, attempting to stand up and walk straight, Kellin felt like he couldn't control his limbs the way he should.

Eventually he made his way to the bathroom, leaving a bunch of annoyed people in his trail as he stumbled amongst them. Great, now he's annoying  strangers too. 

He did his business and washed his hands, leaving the bathroom. He started heading back towards the bar, planning on drinking just a few more before eventually heading back home.  

He didn't get far before he was once again colliding with someone. This time the impact was big enough to knock him down from his unsteady feet and send him to sit on the floor.

"Kellin?"

It took a while for his drunken brain to recognize the voice, but when he lifted his head to look at the person he had collided with, he was met with a surprised face of Mike. 

"What are you doing here?" Mike asked, helping Kellin back on his feet. "Is Vic here somewhere too?"

The mere mention of Vic's name was enough to bring back the thoughts that had been haunting him and make Kellin upset. He tried to blink back the tears but in his drunken state it proved to be a bit more difficult than he thought, a few tears making their way down his cheeks.

"You look pretty drunk, maybe we should find him?" Mike asked again when  he didn't get a reply from Kellin.

"He- he's not here," Kellin mumbled, surprised with how slurred his words were.

"What did you say? Wait. Kellin, are you crying?" Mike asked as he noticed the tears falling down Kellin's face.

"He doesn't want to be near me," Kellin choked as he let the tears fall freely. What was the point with keeping his composure when he had already embarrassed himself by getting shitfaced drunk alone. What's a little crying to add to that.

Other people were giving them weird looks and Mike decided that a little privacy would be better, putting his arm around Kellin and leading him back to the bathrooms. 

The bathroom was empty and a lot quieter, so Kellin and Mike were able to talk better.

"Did you and Vic have a fight or something?" Mike asked, trying to understand the situation a bit better.

"He just doesn't want me around him Mike," Kellin slurred all the while crying. "I'm just being a bother when he wants to have a moment of peace. He thinks he's better off without me." 

While that wasn't what Vic had directly said, Kellin's drunk mind had been able to convince him that he was the worst, that Vic wanted to break up but hadn't just said anything yet. Kellin was torturing himself with thoughts about all the negative outcomes, deeming all the positive ones as impossible. He was full-on sobbing by now, not caring if someone were to walk in the bathroom.

"Come here," Mike said and opened his arms, wrapping Kellin in a hug. 

Kellin accepted the hug but all he could think about was how much he'd want to hug Vic right now and how he might never be able to do that again. He kept crying and crying while Mike tried to calm him down by rubbing soothing circles on his back.

"You sure he's thinking like that?" Mike asked Kellin, not wanting to just dismiss Kellin's statement no matter how much he thought that it couldn't be true. His brother and Kellin had been dating for years now and still seemed to act like a lovestruck teenage couple. He found it impossible to think that Vic didn't want to be with Kellin anymore.

"Yes," Kellin mumbled. "All I do nowadays is bother him."

"I'm sure that's not true," Mike said comfortingly. "C'mon, let's get you home so you two can work things out. It's not going to get better if you're sitting in a bar getting drunk."

Kellin was about to say something but he was interrupted by his phone ringing. He went to take it out of his jacket pocket but cue his alcohol induced clumsiness he dropped it to the ground instead. 

Mike went to pick it up and after looking at the screen he said, "It's Vic. Want to answer?"

Kellin shook his head and the phone stopped ringing.

"You have 8 missed calls and 15 messages from Vic," Mike said as he looked at the phone in his hand. "That doesn't seem like someone who doesn't want to be with you anymore."

Kellin didn't say anything as he took his phone from Mike and stuffed it back in his pocket, not even checking his messages. Maybe Vic was just mad at him for disappearing and making him wonder where he had gone. He didn't want to see the messages and confirm those thoughts.

"You're going to have to see him at some point," Mike said softly.

Kellin knew that but he was doing everything he could to stay in the state of uncertainity, because at least now there was a slight hope that everything would be fine. But if he were to check those messages and see a bunch of angry messages telling Kellin that Vic was sick of him and wanted to break up, then it would be final. Even though it seemed ridiculous, his drunk mind wanted to hold on to that slight hope.

A phone started ringing again, but this time it was Mike's phone. 

"It's Vic," Mike said and looked at Kellin. "If he asks me about you I'm not going to lie."

Kellin looked down at his feet. He didn't expect Mike to lie for him, Vic was his brother and Kellin didn't want to mess things up between them. He listened as Mike answered the phone.

"Hey Vic... Calm down, he's here with me."

Kellin lifted his hazy gaze to look at Mike when he heard that they were talking about him.

"We're at this one bar in town."

"He's..." Mike looked at Kellin, hesitating before continuing his sentence, "Physically he's okay. Pretty drunk but okay."

Kellin didn't know what to think about Mike telling about him to Vic, but he knew that there was really no other option.

"Look, Vic, I'm not going to explain everything on the phone. I'm bringing Kellin home and you two really need to talk then."

Kellin's eyes went wide at the mention of him going home. What would Vic think when he saw him? Would he think that Kellin was pathetic for getting drunk when he was upset? He honestly hadn't meant for this to happen.

"Yeah, I'll see you in a moment, bye." Mike said and hung up the phone.

"We're getting you home now," Mike said simply. 

Kellin knew that he didn't really have any other choice so he nodded a little, following Mike out of the bathroom and out of the bar. Kellin's walking was still very unsteady, so Mike pretty much let Kellin lean on him the whole time.   
Once outside, they took a cab towards Kellin and Vic's home. In the cab Kellin got nervous again, thinking about the different scenarios of how things could go when they soon would reach his and Vic's house.

"What did he say on the phone?" He asked carefully, trying to get some sort of an idea about how Vic was feeling at the moment.

"The poor guy was worried sick," Mike said, not sugarcoating it at all. "Said he had came home from work and hadn't seen any sign of you or where you'd gone and then when you didn't answer your phone he thought something might have happened to you."

Kellin felt bad, he really did. And the tone Mike used felt slightly accusing, although Kellin couldn't really blame him. It did seem like a dick move, leaving his boyfriend to worry while he was in a bar getting drunk. But Kelllin hadn't been thinking it like that when he left. He had felt like he was doing Vic a favor by giving him space. Vic hadn't replied to his previous text, why send him a new one and bother him some more. 

Kellin was scared of Vic's reaction when he'd go home and he felt like he had fucked things up for real this time. The crying that had ceased earlier was back at full force and nothing seemed to help to quiet the sobs. Why did he have to be an emotional drunk?

Once the cab stopped and Mike payed the driver, he helped Kellin out of the cab and started walking him towards the front door of Vic and Kellin's home. Kellin kept his head hung low, he felt like a teenager being escorted back home after he'd done something stupid.

They had only taken a couple of steps towards the door when Kellin heard the front door opening and running steps getting closer. He lifted his gaze just in time to see a blurry figure of a distraught Vic running towards them before he was engulfed in a tight hug.

"I thought something had happened to you," Vic breathed to Kellin's ear as he held him impossibly closer. 

The hug just made Kellin cry more. Vic was not shouting at him, did this mean he wasn't angry? Why wasn't he using this as an opportunity to break up with Kellin?

Kellin wrapped his arms around Vic, enjoying the affection and the feeling he had managed to convince himself he would never feel again. Vic kept shushing him and combing his fingers through Kellin's hair, trying to calm him down. They didn't break the hug even when Vic started talking to Mike.

"Thank you for bringing him home," Vic said, turning to look at Mike while Kellin kept his head buried on Vic's shoulder, still crying a little but feeling better when Vic was there comforting him. 

"No problem, I'm happy I saw him back there," Mike said. 

"Yeah, me too," Vic said, hugging Kellin a bit tighter and kissing the side of his head. "I don't even want to imagine what could have happened if you didn't."

Kellin wasn't even that bothered with how the two seemed to talk like Kellin wasn't there, he was just happy to be back in Vic's arms and after such an emotional night he felt really really tired and honestly just felt like he could fall asleep right there. He wasn't sure how their relationship was at the moment, but he had hope that they would be able to work things out. At least Vic wasn't angry now, or pushing Kellin away.

"I'm going to go now," Mike said. "You two talk things through, alright? Don't let something stupid come in between you two."

"We will," Vic said while Kellin was just softly sniffling to his shoulder. Kellin felt Mike pat Vic on the back and squeeze Kellin's shoulder before he started walking away and Vic started leading Kellin towards their house.

Kellin's moves were still sluggish and he almost fell a couple of times but Vic helped him stay up and get to their bedroom. Vic helped him to sit down on the bed and left the room, leaving Kellin confused.

Was Vic just being nice in front of Mike? Was he going to leave Kellin alone now? Was he about to sleep on the couch?

By the time Vic came back, Kellin had worked himself to the point of crying again. He didn't think he could cry anymore but surely enough, the tears were there. 

"Hey, what's wrong?" Vic asked softly. He had been carrying a glass of water that he now placed on the bedside table, coming to sit next to Kellin and wrap is arm around him.

"I- I thought you left," Kellin mumbled pathetically.

"I'm not going anywhere," Vic reassured Kellin. "I'm right here, I'm not leaving."

"You're not?" Kellin asked, looking Vic in the eyes. The look in his face was honest, albeit a bit sad.

"How about you go to sleep now?" Vic asked. "We'll talk in the morning but you look like you need some rest."

"Yeah," Kellin said, nodding slowly. Sleep did sound really good right now.

"But first I want you to drink this," Vic said and handed Kellin the big glass of water. "It'll make you feel a bit better in the morning."

Kellin took the glass and drank the water, before giving the empty glass back to Vic. He lied down on the bed, honestly just ready to pass out any minute now.

"Let's get you out of those jeans first," Vic said just as Kellin was closing his eyes and letting the sleep take over.

"Okay," Kellin mumbled slowly. He sat up on the bed and let Vic help him out of his jeans and jacket, leaving him in just his boxers and a t-shirt. Vic helped him under the covers and stood up from the bed, heading towards the door again.

"Where are you going?" Kellin asked with a slight panic in his voice.

"Relax, I'm just turning the lights off," Vic said. "I'm coming back in a second."

Vic hit the lights and the room went dark. Kellin couldn't see Vic but he heard him walking back towards the bed. The sound of clothes rustling was heard when Vic got rid of his own jeans and shirt, before he climbed in the bed with Kellin.

"Goodnight," Vic said.

"Goodnight," Kellin replied as he scooted closer so he was cuddling Vic. "I love you."

"I love you too," Vic said softly, bringing Kellin a bit closer.

-.-.-.-.

When Kellin woke up in the morning he could feel the headache piercing through his skull. He opened his eyes to look at the bedside table to find is phone and check the time, but he didn't see his phone there. Instead on the table there was a glass of water and a couple of pills for his headache. He turned to look to the other side of bed but Vic wasn't there. He must have waken up earlier and brought him the pills.

Kellin sat up in the bed and took the pills, swallowing them down with water. He took a moment to think back to last night. It was obvious that he had been drinking, because there was no doubt that he was hungover. He remembered going in a bar and getting drunk. He remembered meeting Mike and how Mike had brought him back home. Slowly but surely he was able to remember most of the night, some details staying hazy.

Kellin saw his jacket on the floor and reached to dig his phone from the pocket. Checking the time he noticed that it was already past noon. He also noticed the 15 missed calls and 8 messages from Vic, and couldn't help but feel bad.

Kellin opened the messages he had been too scared to open last night. They started with a message Vic had sent when he left from work.

"Sorry I couldn't reply, the inspector was here and we had to stay back. I'm on my way home now!"

The next messages were clearly sent after he had arrived home to find the house empty.

"Where have you gone? I'm so sorry about the dinner, I wish I had been here in time."

"Are you mad at me about the dinner? I'm so so sorry."

"Can you come home so we can talk? Please don't be mad <3"

"Kells you're worrying me please come back home."

"Kellin?"

"At least let me know you're okay."

"I'm scared please let me know you're fine."

Kellin felt the tears running down his cheeks as he finished reading the messages. Vic had been worried sick while Kellin had been thinking that he didn't even care anymore. Now when his thoughts were sober and only slowed down by the slowly disappearing headache, he couldn't believe that he had been doubting their relationship or Vic's love for him.

Slowly Kellin got up from the bed, feeling a rush of nausea going through him but managing to hold it down. He put on some sweatpants and left the bedroom to walk towards the living room where he could hear the television being watched. 

He saw Vic sitting on the couch, staring at the TV. His thoughts seemed to be somewhere else though, as he wasn't really focusing on whatever show was playing on the TV. Kellin hesitated only for a moment before clearing his throat a little to announce his presence. Vic looked up from the television and gave Kellin a small smile, patting the couch and beckoning Kellin to sit next to him.

Kellin walked over to where Vic was sitting and carefully sat down while Vic turned the TV off, leaving the room in silence.

Kellin didn't know how to start the conversation. He felt nervous, and the nauseating feeling from earlier was quickly coming back.

"I think we need to talk," Vic said slowly.

"Oh god," Kellin said.

"It's not like that," Vic reassured quickly. "Nothing too bad, I don't think."

"I didn't mean-" Kellin started but wasn't able to finish his sentence before he was quickly standing up and running to the bathroom. He reached the toilet just in time to throw up the contents of his stomach into the porcelain bowl. 

The confused Vic had followed him and appeared on the door frame not long after Kellin was finished with throwing up,  and was now just pathetically leaning on the wall next to the toilet.

"Oh," he said simply, now understanding Kellin's sudden need to run. 

Kellin felt absolutely humiliated when he threw up again. He hated the fact that Vic saw him throwing up, and he hated the reason why he was throwing up. Granted, he hadn't been in his right mind last night when he had made the decision to drink, but it seemed like such a cowardly way to deal with his problems. He was ashamed of how he had acted and what he had done, but there was no changing it now. 

Vic came up behind him and grouched down, rubbing Kellin's back as Kellin wiped the corners of his mouth, throwing the paper in the toilet and flushing it.

"Do you feel like you need to throw up again?" Vic asked calmly.

Kellin just shook his head, refusing to meet Vic's eyes. Vic helped Kellin up and Kellin headed to the sink, taking some mouthwash to rinse the awful taste out of his mouth. The silence felt suffocating, so he felt the need to say something. 

"I don't deserve your help," he mumbled quietly, looking at Vic through the mirror. "I did this to myself."

Vic looked at him with a sympathetic expression, "I can't help but to feel partially responsible though."

"Why is that?" Kellin asked, tilting his head a bit in confusion.

Vic sighed and took a step towards Kellin, reaching for his hand and making him turn around so they were facing each other.

"I haven't been the best of boyfriends lately," Vic said simply, entwining their fingers and keeping his eyes fixed on their interlocked hands.

"You've been stressed because of work," Kellin said simply, feeling the need to make Vic feel better. He didn't want Vic to beat himself over how things had happened.

"That's no excuse though," Vic said, looking up to meet Kellin's eyes. The expression on his face was sad and pained. He clearly felt responsible over what had happened last night. 

Kellin kept quiet because in a way he agreed.

No, he didn't agree that it was Vic's fault that he had gone and gotten drunk last night, that was his own decision, a decision he regretted deeply, but he wasn't able to blame it on Vic. He agreed that things had been rough the last couple of days and that Vic shouldn't be left off the hook just because he had been stressed. While that had been the case, it didn't justify the way how he had treated Kellin.

As Vic noticed that Kellin wasn't going to say anything, he started up the conversation again.

"Mike called me this morning, asking about how things were between us now," he said while looking at Kellin with a careful expression. "He told me some of the things you had said to him last night."

Kellin's eyes went wide as he remembered how he had pretty much had a breakdown in the bar bathroom.

"Vic, I was drunk. I didn't mean..." Kellin started frantically explaining but was quickly shut down by Vic.

"He told me that you thought that I didn't want you near me," Vic said solemnly, his voice cracking a little and his eyes glistening. "He told me that you thought that I wanted to break up."

"Vic, I didn't..." Kellin tried to explain.

"No Kellin, you don't need to make excuses when I know that that's what you said, and that's what you we're feeling like last night," Vic said, still obviously holding back tears.

"I was drunk and I didn't think.."

"Stop it!" Vic yelled and his sudden raise of voice startled Kellin a little, making him shut up immediately.

The tears were now falling on Vic's cheeks and Kellin felt like crying too. He didn't want Vic to feel bad over what had happened last night. Thinking back at it now Kellin just wishes that he could go back in time and change things so he never went for that walk. All it has done is making things more difficult. 

"Can I hug you?" Kellin asked seemingly out of nowhere when the both of them had been quiet for a while, the only sounds in the bathroom being the sounds of crying coming from both of them. Vic looked like he needed a hug and Kellin definitely felt like that.

Vic didn't say anything but nodded a little, opening his arms for Kellin to walk into them. Kellin took a step forward and buried his face in the crook of Vic's neck, wrapping his arms tightly around Vic's shoulders.

Vic leaned on Kellin's touch as well, lifting his arms to circle them around Kellin's waist and bringing him even closer. They just stood there, in the middle of their bathroom, holding each other close while they both tried to calm down their crying.

"I'm so so sorry," Vic whispered hoarsely in Kellin's ear.

"I'm sorry too," Kellin said, and this time Vic didn't argue it.

Eventually Kellin pulled away from the embrace, taking hold of Vic's hand and looking at him. 

"So, that talk?" Kellin asked. As much as he would have liked them to just go back to being okay after apologizing each other, he knew that they needed to talk things through. They couldn't leave these things unsolved or they would come back to bite them in the ass in the future. 

"Let's go back to living room," Vic suggested and leaded Kellin away from the bathroom, so that they were both again sitting on the couch. They must have looked like a mess, both having tear tracks on their cheeks and their faces holding worn out expressions from the night spent sleeping not so peacefully.  

"I shouldn't have taken the stress from work out on you," Vic said to Kellin. "I feel bad for pushing you away and shooting down your attempts to help me take my mind somewhere else. I couldn't see it at the time but you were just trying to help."

"Yeah that felt bad," Kellin admitted. He thought of lying and making it seem like less of a deal to save Vic's feelings but he didn't see any use for that. Things weren't going to get better if he wasn't being honest. "I felt like I couldn't do anything right, but I still felt like I needed to do something to help you."

Vic took a deep breath and swallowed thickly before continuing, "And I'm really sorry about that. You shouldn't need to feel like that when you're around me. The inspections at work are over now, and we got an all-clear. I promise that next time something like that happens, I try not to bring you into it, and try to keep work things at work and not bring them home with me."

"I don't think you need to do that," Kellin said, taking Vic's hand in his, soothingly rubbing his thumb over Vic's knuckles. "I don't want you to shut me outside or keep all the stress inside. Next time there's something stressing you out I want you to talk to me, okay? I want to be able to help you feeling better instead of you bottling it all inside. Can you do that? For me?"

"Yeah," Vic nodded. "I can do that."

"That's good," Kellin said and smiled a little.

"Only if you promise me something," Vic said, looking at Kellin with somewhat stern expression.

"What's that?" Kellin asked.

"I need you to talk to me next time too," Vic said, his face softening a little. "I understand why you didn't want to talk to me yesterday, or the days before. I was being a dick and you probably thought that I would have taken it badly. But you need to know that I would never intentionally make you feel bad. I was just so blinded by all the stress and before you say anything, I know it's not an excuse, and I'm not going to use it as one. But if you would have talked to me we could have worked things out. I was really worried yesterday Kells. I thought that something might have happened to you, or maybe you had had enough of my attitude and decided that you didn't want to be with me anymore."

It was Kellin's turn to blink back tears. He knew that that's what he should have done, he should have talked to Vic instead of fleeding the situation and ending up in the bar. But ending up in the bar wasn't his initial plan, and he needed Vic to know that.

"I'm sorry about that," he started. "I know I should have let you know that I went for a walk and you have to believe me when I say that I originally intended to do just that, to go for a walk. After walking for a while I ended up at this bar, and thought that a drink or two wouldn't hurt, that they would just help me relax and take my mind out of things. I don't even know at what point I started to drink to drown everything."

"I believe you," Vic said honestly. "I'm just really glad you ran up to Mike who brought you back here and nothing happened to you."

"Yeah, me too." Kellin said, and he really meant that. He'd have to remind himself to thank Mike later. Who knows what would have happened if he'd carried on drinking, or worse, tried to leave the bar by himself in the state he was in.

"One more promise?" Vic asked as he leaned forward to wrap Kellin in a tight hug again.

"What's that?" Kellin asked, returning the embrace just as tightly. 

"Can we promise not to fight, like, ever again?" Vic murmured.

"Yeah," Kellin said chuckling a little. "That sounds like the best deal ever."

And while they both knew that the last promise was a bit ridiculous, they also knew that they'd do their absolute best to keep it from failing. There would be some up's and downs in their relationship but after the night and the week they had gone through, they would hopefully remember to talk to each other the next time around when they were faced by difficult times. Not only were they reminded about how important it was to talk to each other, they were also reminded about how strong their relationship was. Because as difficult as the times they had gone through had been, they had been able to do just that, to go through them. It would take a hell of a lot more to break them apart.

**Author's Note:**

> Phew! That's a shitton of words! I'm proud of myself, this is almost 2000 words longer than my longest fic so far! :D


End file.
